A new study finds people who are going to develop Alzheimer's disease may be depressed, or exhibit other changes in behavior, before they begin losing their memory.
"Kind of at the same time people are starting to make that conversion to memory loss these behavior changes are occurring and they are occurring more rapidly than in the people who don't have any memory problems or did not develop memory problems during this follow-up," said Dr. James Leverenz who treats Alzheimer's patients at Cleveland Clinic.
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Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis studied nearly 2,500 people age 50 and older. Those who participated did not have cognitive problems when the study began, but were followed for up to seven years.
Results show about half of the participants developing dementia during the study and displaying behavior and mood symptoms like apathy, irritability, and depression sooner than the people who did not develop dementia.
Researchers say the next step is to determine if depression is a response to the psychological process of Alzheimer's disease or a result of the underlying changes in the brain.
Leverenz says regardless of how it develops these behavior changes should be treated.
"Some of the normal individuals, people who were older who did not convert to memory impairment, actually also showed some depression and so we need to be aware that this can be a problem for the elderly and we need to treat that," he explained.
Complete findings from this study can be found at www.neurology.org.